Insider: Fast-food free, T.Y. Hilton embraces Colts' new era

A look at the changes to the Indianapolis Colts' offensive and defensive lineups in the wake of free agency. There are 12 players on each side of the ball to reflect different situations the units may face.
Clark Wade/IndyStar

Of the 11 wideouts on the Colts' roster, Hilton accounts for 431 of the group’s 576 career catches and 34 of the 39 touchdowns.(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

INDIANAPOLIS – Slimmed down and stirred up, T.Y. Hilton oozed energy on Tuesday. While change encircles the Indianapolis Colts’ Pro Bowl receiver – new coaches, new teammates, new everything – he remains one of the last remnants of the old guard, one of the few survivors of General Manager Chris Ballard’s ambitious overhaul.

It seems like yesterday he was the precocious young talent, the dazzling rookie with his entire career ahead of him. Then one year became three, and three became six. Is T.Y. Hilton really about to enter his seventh season in Indy?

He is.

“Time is really flying,” he said. “I just told the new guys it goes by so fast.”

Hilton is the third longest-tenured Colt – along with QB Andrew Luck, he trails only kicker Adam Vinatieri and left tackle Anthony Castonzo – six years of service into a career that already ranks him among the best wideouts in franchise history. But Hilton only need look around, in the locker room, in the receivers room, to get a gauge on how much different 2018 will be. Donte Moncrief is gone. Phillip Dorsett is gone. Reggie Wayne is long gone.

And the Colts are as thin as receiver as they’ve been since Hilton arrived in 2012.

There are 11 wideouts on the roster; Hilton accounts for 431 of the group’s 576 career catches and 34 of the 39 touchdowns. Seven of those receivers have combined for just one NFL catch.

“This is their time to prove it,” Hilton said of a very unproven group.

As always, he intends to be the spark. Hilton seemed genuinely upbeat on Tuesday, his first time speaking with the media since cleaning out his locker back on Jan. 1 following the Colts’ merciful end to a 4-12 campaign. Chuck Pagano, the only head coach he’s ever played under, is out. Frank Reich is in.

All of a sudden, T.Y. Hilton and Andrew Luck (both drafted in 2012) are the third-longest tenured Colts on the roster.(Photo: Mykal_McEldowney/Indy_Star)

Hilton was asked if the change felt necessary.

“I think it was,” he said. “Not my decision, but at the end of the day, I think it was. We all understand with this new coaching staff we gotta bring it every day.”

That’s a sentiment echoed by a number players over the last few weeks. With Reich’s arrival, the players are offered a clean start with nothing guaranteed. Even Hilton, one of the few game-breaking talents this roster has at the moment, seems to relish the shot of earning his keep all over again.

“We’re all competing for a job, and at the end of the day, we’re going to put the best two or three receivers out there that can play,” he said.

Breaking: He’ll be among them. That isn’t changing. And he’ll do so after an offseason unlike any he’s endured in the league. The biggest alteration Hilton made over the past few months wasn’t in the weight room or in his training regimen. Instead, he cut fast food from his diet, all of it, cold turkey. It pained him. “I love all fast food,” he said Tuesday. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

He joked that his healthy dinner alternative was two bowls of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Baby steps, remember.

Hilton did note that the byproduct has been worth it. He’s worked closely with the Colts’ new director of sports performance, Rusty Jones, to map out a nutrition plan. He said he feels like he’s in “the best shape of his life” – something just about every single NFL player vows every single offseason – but nonetheless vital when you consider how painfully thin the Colts are when it comes to proven pass-catching options for quarterback Andrew Luck.

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) reacts after a fourth down play against the Baltimore Ravens late in the fourth quarter at M&amp;T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday, Dec. 23, 2017. (Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

At this juncture, a week before the NFL Draft, there’s T.Y. Hilton and there’s Jack Doyle and there’s a lot of question marks. The Colts need Hilton at his best, plain and simple.

What’s peaked Hilton’s interest is Reich’s offensive scheme, the one the Philadelphia Eagles rode to three playoff wins with a backup quarterback, including an upset over the Patriots in Super Bowl LII. If all goes to plan, the Colts’ uber-conservatism of the past will fade. Reich’s versatile, up-tempo attack will reign. Hilton will do what Hilton does.

“Throw the ball down the field and keep the defense on their toes,” he said, “because it’s hard when you don’t know it’s coming.”

But that won’t come for months. It’s April. Hilton and his teammates aren’t even on the field yet. Slimmed down and stirred up, the Colts’ best – and only proven -- receiver has turned the page on the past. Three straight years without the playoffs has left a sour taste in his mouth, and all of a sudden, he’s seven years into his career.